need some helpful tips

[rivrat]

heading up to rogers city wednesday turkey hunting. I've got a couple different parcels of land scouted out. but havent been up there for a couple months. what worries me is if the turkeys are not there what is the best way to locate them. this will be my first turkey hunt , so I'm pretty dumb when it comes to this. IS driving aruond using a call in different areas untill you get a response viable or moving around in the evening with an owl call or other to locate roosting birds a good bet. then setting up in the morning. what do you all recomend or what works for you, any help will be appreciated, thanks rivrat

[The Nailer]

Rivrat - I just came back from that area (Hawks)Sunday. We spent 5 days trying to hunt in the most miserable weather ever, 80-86 degrees and bug city. We tried every shock call made and could not get a response driving the 2 tracks. Follow Trouts advice and try to find them, then pattern them. We saw some birds, but no where near what I'd seen in the past. I don't know if the weather affects their patterns or not, but it sure affected ours. I do believe we may have called too much. I had a friend in from Nebraska who's taken 3 birds (Merriams) so far this year and he said this was the hardest he's ever hunted w/ nothing to show for it. I worked a gobbler Saturday morning for almost 2 hours and could not get him to move(I think he was tied to a tree)off the only property I didn't have permission to hunt. I moved from one side to the other covering close to a 1/2 mile, he'd gobble to my calls, but would not come to them. Later that day just after dinner I walked out to the road and wouldn't you know it he was standing in the middle of the road w/ a hen about a 1/4 mile away. Oh well I guess if it were easy it wouldn't be any fun. Good luck to you next week. The weather is supposed to cool off w/ a little rain, maybe that will help.